JavaScript Tops Stack Overflow Ranking

Stack Overflow just published the results of its annual developer survey, in which it queried 56,044 coders around the world about everything from their age to their job priorities. As with previous editions of the survey, Stack Overflow also asked developers to name the programming languages they used most.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, JavaScript topped that list, followed by SQL and Java. Here’s the breakdown of Stack Overflow’s top ten languages:

“More people use JavaScript than use any other programming language,” read the note accompanying the data. “PHP appears to be falling out of favor as Node and Angular emerge.”

Those results differ wildly from the monthly TIOBE Index, considered one of the key listings of the most popular programming languages. March’s edition of the Index put Java in first, followed (sequentially) by C, C++, C#, Python, PHO, Visual Basic .NET, JavaScript, and Perl.

Stack Overflow’s rankings align more closely with the recent list by tech-industry analyst firm RedMonk, which also placed JavaScript in first, followed by Java, PHP, Python, C#, C++, Ruby, CSS, C, and Objective-C.

Of course, it all comes down to methodology. RedMonk calculates its rankings based on datasets from GitHub and Stack Overflow, while TIOBE relies on search-engine data. By contrast, Stack Overflow asks its developers directly.

Whatever the analysis, though, it’s indisputable that JavaScript remains popular among developers. If you’re just exploring the language, check out these resources:

YOUR CAREER. YOUR PATH.

Author Bio

Nick Kolakowski has written for The Washington Post, Slashdot, eWeek, McSweeney's, Thrillist, WebMD, Trader Monthly, and other venues. He's also the author of "A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps" and "Slaughterhouse Blues," a pair of noir thrillers.